Amazing how time flies when you're moving! I didn't mean to leave off for so long after the end of the last posting, especially with the rather abrupt 'ending' of the last post. It just seemed I was getting beyond the length I imagine most people would stick around for and decided to inject a stopping point.

I left off with us in Astana having decided we would return home. Really once we made that decision the healing process and personal recovery began. I will say that even all these weeks later, we are still in the recovery mode to some extent, but the road towards looking at our situation in a positive light began with accepting that we would go home and return to Astana in the future.

From time to time I find it important to remind myself that KJ and I are not the only ones affected by this process, our daughter is as well, as this whole story is actually the story of her adoption. Every step of the process is part of the genesis of our family, and as such, there is no regret.

So let me fill out a little timeline.

We left Maine on Monday afternoon for a night flight out of Boston. Monday and Tuesday nights were spent on the plane. We arrived in Almaty(KAZ) around 4:30 am Wednesday, spent several hours at the airport awaiting our flight to Astana, then arrived in Astana just after noon. We were met by our in country coordinator and driver, driven to our apartment and given 30 minutes to shower and get ready to go to the Baby House. We arrived at the baby house around 3pm and shortly thereafter were told that their were presently no children available.

We returned to our Apartment, where I mentioned earlier we had locked ourselves out of the bedroom, and spent that night on the couch trying to comprehend what was happening. We did get out for a bit of a walk that evening, and really liked the location of our apartment and the immediate surroundings. Astana is a very comfortable city, especially in the summer when everything is green and the streets are full of people. It will no doubt be quite different by the time we return again.

Thursday morning we again went to the Baby House, only to hear again that there was nothing to wait for, and that our best option was really to head home and return at a later date. That afternoon we got out to an email place and had the opportunity to check in with folks and let them know what was happening. Our adoption agency contacted our travel agent and filled her in and had her call us at the apartment to work out the return. As mentioned in a previous post we were able to get confirmed flights for the middle of the next week, but could only get stand-by before that. We decided that our best option was to fly to Almaty as soon as we could and be prepared to jump on any of the standby options if they became available. Thus we spent Thursday night at the apartment, this time on a bed.

It just happened that Friday was a huge celebration throughout the city marking it's tenth year as the capital of Kazakhstan, and conveniently, was also the president's birthday(we heard). As a result, it was a fascinating time to be in Astana. The photos of children dancing and drawing on the sidewalks are not simply daily occurrences, but were just small parts of the celebrations going on all around town. It was a beautiful day and with so many people out and about, you really got a sense of the ethnic diversity that is Kaz. Being as far north as it is, there was daylight until quite late and in fact, the photo of the Gas and Oil building was taken at 9:30PM.

We went back to the apartment, watched the fireworks while we packed, and were on a flight to Almaty around midnight. Before we left for the airport, our travel agent called and said we were now confirmed for a flight out at 5am Sunday, and that after going through Amsterdam and Minneapolis, would have us back in Boston Sunday night.

And so it was, we arrived home in Maine early Monday morning just inside a week after we left. Take Care.